Quote:
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of New York
March 15, 2011
www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2011/indictment-unsealed-charging-additional-member-of-al-qaeda-plot
Indictment Unsealed Charging Additional Member of al Qaeda Plot
A superseding indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn federal court yesterday charging Ferid Imam, also known as “Yousef,” with providing and conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda, aiding and abetting the terrorist training of Najibullah Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay, and Adis Medunjanin, and using a destructive device in furtherance of crimes of violence.1 The indictment was unsealed in coordination with Canadian authorities, who earlier today announced terrorism charges against Imam, who is a Canadian citizen. According to the Eastern District indictment, Imam aided and abetted Zazi, Ahmedzay, and Medunjanin’s receipt of military-type training from al Qaeda when the three men traveled to Pakistan in 2008. Zazi, Ahmedzay, and Medunjanin subsequently returned to the United States to carry out a plot to detonate improvised explosive devices on behalf of al Qaeda. This plot was uncovered and disrupted by law enforcement authorities in September 2009. Zazi pleaded guilty to his role in the plot on February 22, 2010; Ahmedzay similarly pleaded guilty on April 23, 2010.
If convicted of the crimes in the indictment, Imam faces between 30 years’ and life imprisonment.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.
“As today’s charges demonstrate, we will not rest in our pursuit of those responsible for plotting terrorist attacks,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch expressed her gratitude to the law enforcement personnel, both American and Canadian, who took part in the investigation.
“The three men already charged with conspiring to set off bombs in New York were also charged with receiving overseas training to accomplish that nefarious goal. Among other alleged acts of terrorism, Ferid Imam helped them get that training. Today’s charges are an important step in bringing to justice all the conspirators,” said FBI New York Assistant Director-in-Charge Fedarcyk.
NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “Today’s charges against Ferid Imam are a result of the successful partnerships forged between police, prosecutors, and intelligence agencies in our efforts to keep the threat of terrorism at bay.”
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The Defendant:
FERID IMAM
Alias: “Yousef”
Age: 30
1 The charges contained in the superseding indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[Note: Phone number from the press release removed by me for this post.]
NOTE The following text is a quote:
www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2011/father-of-would-be-suicide-bomber-convicted-of-obstructing-terrorism-investigation
Father of Would-Be Suicide Bomber Convicted of Obstructing Terrorism Investigation
U.S. Attorney’s Office
July 22, 2011
Eastern District of New York
Mohammed Wali Zazi, the father of convicted terrorist Najibullah Zazi (“Najibullah”), was found guilty today by a Brooklyn federal jury of destroying bomb-making materials and conspiring to obstruct the federal investigation into Najibullah’s and his co-conspirators’ terrorist plot to attack the New York City subway system.
The verdict was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James F. Yacone, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Denver Field Office; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department.
Testimony and evidence at trial, as well as other court documents in this and related cases, established that a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York began investigating Najibullah’s plot to detonate improvised explosive devices in the New York City area in September 2009. The investigation by the grand jury and the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that Najibullah had sent e-mail messages to a contact in Pakistan seeking key ingredients for constructing a bomb, and had then rented a car in Denver, Colorado, and driven toward New York City. On September 11, 2009, while Najibullah was in New York City, the FBI conducted a covert search of his car and discovered handwritten bomb-making notes. Also on September 11, a Queens imam, who had been asked by authorities for information about Najibullah, tipped off the defendant and Najibullah about the investigation. Najibullah then returned to his home in Colorado.
After Najibullah returned to Colorado, his family members, led by the defendant Mohammed Wali Zazi, attempted to derail the federal investigation that was moving quickly to gather information about the plotters and the plot. For example, when asked about his relationship with the Queens imam who had tipped off the family about the investigation, the defendant lied to the FBI, claiming that he had no idea who the imam was—even though he had known the imam for years and had just engaged in a lengthy telephone call with him about the terrorist investigation. The defendant also lied about his relationship to Najibullah’s co-conspirator, Amanullah Zazi. Finally, the defendant directed family members to destroy Najibullah’s chemicals and other bomb-making materials so that the FBI would not find them.
When sentenced on December 2, 2011, the defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each of the two counts of conviction. Eastern District of New York Assistant U.S. Attorneys will also prosecute the defendant separately for visa fraud in the Southern District of New York.1
The defendant is the third individual to be convicted of attempting to obstruct the investigation in the Eastern District of New York into Najibullah’s and his co-conspirators’ terrorist plot. On January 8, 2010, Najibullah’s cousin, Amanullah, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and aiding Najibullah and others in the receipt of al Qaeda training, and on January 22, 2010, Najibullah’s uncle, Naqib Jaji, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice.
“This defendant sought to conceal one of the most serious terror plots in recent times. He also enlisted others to help him spin his web of lies and to destroy key evidence. Had the plot not been thwarted, it would have left Americans at grave risk,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “Just as we and our partners in law enforcement will vigorously prosecute those who plot terrorist attacks, we will also seek out and bring to justice those who obstruct the government’s investigations into those plots.” Ms. Lynch expressed her gratitude and appreciation to the federal and state law enforcement personnel who took part in the investigation.
“Mohammed Wali Zazi may have been under no legal obligation to assist investigators. But he lied to them, impeding the investigation and obstructing justice. Being uncooperative is one’s prerogative. Obstructing justice is a crime,” said FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Fedarcyk.
NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “One of the reasons for New York’s safety in the decade since 9/11 was manifested in today’s verdict. The collaboration between NYPD detectives and FBI agents, and the prosecutors’ pursuit of justice in the case, has once again demonstrated the importance of that partnership.”
The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Berit Berger, Andrew E. Goldsmith and Melissa Marrus of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and Trial Attorney Courtney Sullivan of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney William Narus of the Counterterrorism Section.
1 The charges contained in the visa fraud indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.